Victoria Univ inks partnership deal with Guj-based univ.

The partnership deal with GanpatUniversity will initially focus on masters’ programmes in business and information technology and computing, with the curriculum being identical to that offered in Australia.

The Victoria University (VU) has also been invited by the state government to set up vocational training units targeting disadvantaged students from Gujarat's tribal communities, which make up 14 per cent of the state's population.

While VU's Vice President (International) Andrew Holloway dismissed reports that the new step was an attempt by those countries to stop the outward flow of students, he said "What they are clearly doing ... is actually encouraging foreign providers, not just simply to enroll their students going overseas, but to come and deliver their courses in their countries, in China and in India."

He said "It's not one or another option; it's actually an ability to do both. We're well placed because that is our expertise: to deliver not only programmes in Melbourne but to deliver programmes in about 20 different sites in the world including Europe, increasingly the Middle East, as well as Asia, and perhaps in the future- parts of Africa," he said.

The government's tightening of visa rules in Australia meant "what you're going to see in Australia is a huge shift in demand in the types of qualifications that students from India will study," Holloway was quoted as saying.

"So we do anticipate there will be a significant drop in enrolments in the private, vocational educational sectors that were linked to early migration opportunities, hairdressing and cookery," he said.

"But we would anticipate over a five-year period, that the number of Indian students enrolling in Australian universities will actually grow significantly. If we have Indian students able to start part of their degree in India and then transfer to Australia, that will actually grow the number of Indian students spending one or two years at our universities in Melbourne."

Holloway said that VU already has five major programmes in Chinese universities.
"Each year approximately 800 to 1,000 Chinese students transfer to programmes at VictoriaUniversity in Melbourne after commencing part of that programme in China," he said. "So you can see how it increases enrolment in Australia, as well as enrolment overseas."

Another reason for a drop in the student enrolments in Australia was a series of attacks on Indian students.